Favorite Things in Florence, Italy – October 12, 2013

This is the first in a series of “Favorite Things” posts, things that I have come to love about Italy and Europe during our time here (over 10 months and counting!) The series will be scattered a bit because it will be interspersed with current tales of our ongoing adventures (we leave for Lake Como and Switzerland tomorrow), but hopefully the series will provide a bit of insight into some of the many things that have resonated with me during our life here.  So, with that in mind (and in no particular order), my Favorites Things in Florence:

Basilica di Santa Croce – It is neither the biggest nor most famous cathedral in the city, but Angie and I both agree Santa Croce speaks to your soul like no other. Its beautiful exterior houses spectacular frescoes, beautiful works of art, and entombs some amazing people from Italy’s early history: Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, plus a monument to Dante, among others. When Michael visited us in June, he and I joined a 2 hour tour up the 5 floors of scaffolding that provided a very up-close review of the recently restored frescoes over the high alter at the front of the church – it was just outstanding.

Golden Open View Restorante (seafood) – It is a maddening task to pick the best steak house in Florence, there are so many good ones, and impossible to pick the best place for pasta, but there is a lesser number of really good seafood restaurants in the city.  The Golden Open View beats them all hands down (Via dè Bardi, #58/r).  It’s on the pricey side, but the service is good and the seafood is fresh and expertly prepared (my favorite is the Pesce Spada alla Siciliana - Swordfish).  The view is spectacular – I always get a window seat in the back because the Restaurant is perched right on the south bank of the Arno River, with great views of the Uffizi Museum and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge.

Piazza Signoria – It is my favorite among the countless piazzas in Florence.  Yes, I know that Neptune’s fountain does not run in winter, and yes I know that the piazza is choked with those pesky tourists in summer, but it is still my favorite. *

 It has a couple of decent restaurants, the statues are beautiful, Neptune’s fountain is magnificent, and the Loggia dei Lanzi alcove is home to the Florentines (the city locals) who come out at night just to hang out and enjoy the stars and the vibe of the city.  Plus, it’s only a short walk to and from…. just about everywhere.

Odeon Movie Theater – Sometimes a U.S. Ex-Pat needs an English speaking creature comfort.  The Odeon (Piazza Strozzi, #2) is an entertainment haven for those of us whose Italian isn’t so good.  Twice per week they feature movies in English (with Italian subtitles).  Angie and I saw Argo, Les Misérables, Lincoln, and a few others here.  And it is just so classy and comfortable; the old theater house was obviously used for upscale theatrical performances in its heyday, its now a cinema for the refined and high minded, Italian or American! (cappuccino or wine can be purchased in the lobby)  

San Niccolo neighborhood – For the adventurous among you fancying a long term stay in Florence, San Niccolo is the perfect neighborhood; we know this because it was our home for our first five months in Italy.  It is a quiet, friendly area with its own little piazza (really just a big intersection with a couple of grocers, restaurants and bars) but 

it is a scant few minutes walk across the Ponte Alle Grazie Bridge right into a very happening part of town.  And, for long term Ex-Pats who have their own cars, it is close to the undisclosed, confidential, secret handshake free parking area (and boy did that ever come in handy!)

San Giovanni Battista – The Patron Saint of Florence, Saint John the Baptist harkens to the throngs traversing the Ponte Vecchio Bridge.  This statue is my favorite (and perhaps most historically accurate) rendition of him.  If you lived in the wilderness, made your own clothes, and ate nothing but locusts and honey, you’d probably look like this too!

Piazza del Duomo – This is the haymaker, the most iconic symbol of Florence, the place everyone comes to see; it is home to the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral (Il Duomo), the Giotto Bell Tower, and St. John’s Baptistery.  Although the piazza is huge, it is completely dominated by the colossal structure of the Duomo.  And rightly so; by size as it is the fourth largest church in Europe.  Angie and I have climbed its ancient, narrow, winding stone stairwells all the way up to the white Cupola at the very top of the brick-red dome, and the views out over the city are amazing.

House of Sizzle – Ok, let me just say that the House of Sizzle pub and night club was a lifesaver for me during the 5 months we lived in Florence (Via de' Benci, #33,).  Not just because Francesco and Gina are such gracious hosts (they are wonderful people); not just because they serve the best bacon cheeseburger in Florence (nobody else even comes close); but because they televise 

NFL Football !!  I spent more than my share of Sunday nights at the pub, dressed in my Eagles shirt and hat, rubbing elbows and swapping stories with other likeminded Ex-Pats also dressed in their favorite garb and watching live NFL games. It made for a late night (1:00pm ET games start at 7:00pm in Italy), but was always worth it. I even watched the Super Bowl there (kickoff was 12:30am Monday morning….)

Florence Fitness – For those of you who know of my love of pumping iron, you know how important a gym membership is to me.  As soon as we moved to Florence I joined Florence Fitness (Via dei Fossi, #56).  At that time the gym was only 5 months old – all the equipment was brand new and very well laid out.  Dario and the rest of his English speaking staff are friendly and are always ready to help you get the most out of every workout.

Palazzo Pitti – The palace at Pitti Piazza is almost beyond description.   Large but unassuming on the outside, it’s unique architectural construction inside reflects centuries of ruling power opulence; gigantic paintings, breath taking frescos, incredible jewelry, and even a costume wardrobe. And, its furniture, art, and décor reflect its long history as the reigning seat of government for Tuscany and much of the surrounding countryside beyond.  

Boboli & Bardini Gardens – The Boboli and Bardini Gardens are an outdoor haven from the rush and crush of the city. The Boboli is essentially the backyard of the Palazzo Pitti.  The nearby Bardini Garden is much smaller and secluded, but it holds a special place for Angie and I in our hearts – it was our backyard when we lived on Via San Niccolo, and we went there often.

Museo Uffizi –Florence was ground zero for the birth of the Renaissance, and the Uffizi Gallery is home to some of the finest works of the great Renaissance masters: Leonardo di Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Sandro Botticelli, and many others.  Angie and I visited there several times, often with our many summer guests.*

Uffizi Card – This little gem of a card was our passport to Florence.  Angie and I bought the 100 Euro family plan, giving the two of us unlimited access to Palazzo Piti, Boboli & Bardini Gardens, the Uffizi Gallery, the Accademia and more.  We used this card so many times, sometimes just to go for a brief walk in one of the gardens.  It paid for itself many times over.  Plus, card holders have their own entrance to the Uffizi, allowing us (and our non-cardholder guests) to bypass the dreadful lines at the height of the tourist season and go right in.

Ciao for now!

* Please note the overhead pic of Piazza Signoria and the Uffizi Hall are stock archive found on the Internet.

Our Time in Florence, Italy – December 1st 2012 to April 29th 2013

Time for a recap of our first five months as residents in Italy, and our time spent living in the city of Florence:

First and foremost, and beyond any shadow of a doubt, Florence was for us and continues to be an outstanding place for newbies to spend their first winter in Italy.   The city thrives on a strong cosmopolitan vibe, both from the thousands of international college students and the many ex-Pats from all over the world.  This provides opportunities to make friends with English speaking people from many walks of life.  Not surprisingly though, this vibe is often overshadowed by the city’s stupendous offerings of art, architecture, culture, and history that exist on an unimaginable scale – the entire Historic Center of the city is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Shopping options are endless, from the most modest clothing offerings in the piazza bazaars to the highest end designer fashion stores in the world.  Shopping for food is even more fun, since the supermarkets are supplemented with fruit and vegetable stands, both in independent stores and in open air markets.  And you don’t need to speak Italian to enjoy any of this because so many of the merchants, tour guides, and restaurateurs usually speak some English.  There is even a really nice movie theater in Florence offering current popular movies in English.  It is a city of beautiful churches and piazzas, and breathtaking vistas if you climb high enough.  Even a river runs through it. 

Just lace up your best walking shoes and start walking to whatever interests you, because Florence is a walking city like no other – everything is so compact you don’t need to walk very far to get to everything.  Yes you need a coat and gloves for winter, but winters here are much milder than the corresponding U.S. latitude of NYC and New England – far fewer Arctic air blasts, less wind, and no snow (ok, it did rain practically every day from February 1st to March 20th, and that got pretty tiresome). 

And then there is the food.  I said this once before but it’s worth saying again - if you cannot find a great place to eat in Florence, you are blind.  And your nose has stopped working too.  Cooking at home only serves to further prove this point – the fruits, vegetables, meats, pastas, sauces and breads (and olive oil… and wine….) consistently surpass anything Angie and I have been used to in the eastern U.S.  Ok, their pizza is not so great (actually, much of it is surprisingly bad) – but beyond that your walk around the city can easily turn into a movable feast.

That’s not to say Florence doesn’t have its drawbacks because it  does, in fact, we are beginning to experience one of the worst ones right now – tourists.  Easter kicks off the beginning of tourist season for Italy, and in the month of April the population of Florence has seemingly doubled.  Like any other major Italian city, walking around Florence has its hazards – cars and buses that will trample you in an instant, speeding scooters ready to impale you from every direction, even if you are just standing on the sidewalk - even random out of control bicycles that will sneak up behind you and clobber you the moment you drop your guard.  But the massive influx of tourists exacerbate these risks exponentially – more people, drivers, and buses competing for ever diminishing transportation arteries, the narrow sidewalks choked with masses of people seeking whatever limited measure of safety they may afford, and the ever increasing probability that a careless bump or elbow or poorly timed step places you directly in the path of some recklessly driven, fast moving vehicle that will crush you. 

And then there is the incessant, never ending cigarette smoking.  Many Italians are very heavy smokers as it is, but with the Spring arrival of the Asians and other tourists the non-smokers don’t have a chance.  By mid-April every single cubic meter of breathable city atmosphere is tainted with second hand cigarette smoke.

As if this weren't bad enough, you must at all times keep your eyes trained on the sidewalk or path where you are walking.  If not, you are guaranteed to step into something bad, once described in a friend’s blog as the “ubiquitous piles of steaming dog shit” found everywhere because most Florentines cannot be bothered to clean up after their dogs.

This might sound like our time in Florence is ending on a sour note; it is not, but the timing of the change of seasons serves to underscore the need for us to take the next major step in our journey.  On Monday our adventure in Italy takes a bold new direction - we pack up and move to the small town of Impruneta.  We leave Florence behind and move into an apartment in a renovated farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside, surround by olives groves and wine vineyards.  It is symbolic that with the emergence of Spring flowers and sunny weather, we ourselves emerge from the convenient and reassuring confines of Florence to live an unfettered, fuller life on a landscape limited only by our own imaginations.

This will be a dramatic change for us - the leaving behind of the immediate access of friends and familiar Florence resources - but this new chapter of our life in Italy creates opportunities to make new friends and explore new adventures in the rolling hills and vineyards of the Italian countryside that lies under the Tuscan Sun.

Ciao

Skiing in Abetone

This week I went skiing at Abetone ski resort.  It was my first day skiing in two years, my first time skiing in my new Fischer ski boots (bought 2 years ago) and it was my first time skiing in Italy.  Abetone (abba-TONE-a) is not in the Alps, it’s in the Apennine (appa-NEEN-a) mountains but it’s a lot closer to Florence than the Alps are, a 2 ½ hour train/bus combination trip (and a lot less than that by car if I had mine right now!).   

 The weather wasn’t the best and the snow was a bit sparse as you can see from the photos, but it was soft and my high performance Rossignol rental skis were fast.  And my new ski boots worked perfectly, 10 times better than my old worn out, beaten to death Nordica’s.

Abetone is one of the biggest non-Alp ski areas in Italy.  With 4 major peaks, a bowl between two of the peaks, and almost 1,800 vertical feet of long skiable trails, it has a big mountain feel.  And during weekdays there are few skiers on the slopes.  After not having skied for 2 years it was a good tune up in preparation for skiing the Alps later this month.

I am tentatively making plans to ski Cortina in the Dolomites, and I have finally figured out the necessary train transportation.  I will keep you posted on how it turns out!